Louisville coach Rick Pitino celebrates at the the trophy ceremony after winning the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game against Michigan. / John Amis, AP

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the final entry of Bracket Briefing, our attempt to provide you with the essential information on the Big Dance - highlighting the Florida Gulf Coasts and Wichita States of the college basketball world, and toasting to the Kevin Ware and Luke Hancock moments.

At the water cooler: How about that for a finish? The adage "it's not how you start, it's how you finish" rarely applies to the Big Dance. The past NCAA tournament championships have been, for lack of a better word, boring. We'll typically see an NCAA tournament dominated by storybook upsets and Cinderella runs. But the championship game rarely has that awe factor, that "did you see Spike Albrecht beast in the first half factor?" That "Luke Hancock won Most Outstanding Player?" factor.

Butler had a last-second potential game-winner fall short in its 2010 title loss to Duke and an overtime 2008 thriller between Kansas and Memphis pumped the adrenaline. But this Louisville vs. Michigan battle undoubtedly trumps other title games of recent memory. The 2013 championship had it all - from alley-oop dunks, an abundance of unsung heroes, clutch shots, premier matchups (Trey Burke vs. Peyton Siva). Just take a look at the five best moments of Monday's title game in The Morning Win. And here are 10 things you need to know about the Cardinals' narrow victory.

The best One Shining Moment ever? If you disagree with Monday night's national title claiming the best of all-time status, it's difficult to argue the image of Louisville injured star Kevin Ware cutting down the net - a fitting final chapter to one of the most inspiring stories in tournament history - as a memory that trumps other shining moments. The way Ware carried himself after the traumatic knee injury inspired the Cardinals on the final stretch of their title run.

Quotable: "Where the did that guy come from? He was going by us like he was Pistol Pete (Maravich). I told the guys, 'I know you're trying to outplay Trey Burke, but the other guy's kicking your ass all over the place.' " - Louisville coach Rick Pitino on Michigan's Spike Albrecht, who became an instant legend in the first half of Monday's championship game against Louisville, scoring 17 points and going from no-star recruit to household name in a matter of minutes. Not to mention Albrecht has an awesome nickname with a cool back story.

The highlight reel: While Trey Burke's huge block on Siva that was ruled a foul made our jaws drop the most, Louisville's Montrezl Harrell put an awesome exclamation point on the first half of the 2013 NCAA championship game. This alley-oop gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night against Michigan.

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Most Chris Webber-like moment: Coach John Beilein. Michigan's history of last-minute gaffes in national championship games continues. Beilein admitted he didn't realize how many fouls his team had committed in the final minute of the national championship loss to Louisville, a major error that impacted the Wolverines' strategy down the stretch. "I thought we were in the 1-and-1," Beilein said. "It's a coaching error. That falls right on me."

Next season's forecast: The 2012-13 season and the madness that came with the postseason has officially concluded, which means it's time to put that image of Louisville cutting down the nets into the rear-view mirror and turn our focus to the more pertinent future. USA TODAY Sports provides a preview of the top 25 for 2013-14, while college basketball writers Nicole Auerbach and Eric Prisbell provide outlooks on the potential of Michigan and Louisville next season.

Kickin' it old school: Vintage clip of the day goes to...

Rick Pitino's last NCAA tournament title, with Kentucky in 1996. That Wildcats team was one of the best we've seen. Pitino has fought life's adversities to get back on top, getting named to the the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on the same day he made NCAA tournament history as the only coach in basketball to win titles with two different schools.

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A special thanks: To those who read Bracket Briefing over the last three weeks, thanks for following along, offering feedback and helping me bring a one-stop shop on the web for all the madness to our die-hard sports fans.